Mind Candy
Mind Candy is a British entertainment company, formed in 2004 by UK internet entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith, and based in Shoreditch,London, England.[1] Mind Candy's first major project was a hybrid of stories, games and puzzles called Perplex City that was played simultaneously by thousands of people around the world. In 2007, the company began development on Moshi Monsters, a virtual world and online game aimed at children aged between 6-12, which allows users to adopt their own pet monster, socialise and play educational puzzles.[2] Moshi Monsters has been likened to a Facebook for kids[3] and currently has over 80 million users around the world.[4] The brand is gaining continuous momentum, growing at a rate of one new user per second.[5] In 2011, Moshi Monsters expanded from its online base into the real world, launching a range of physical products including toys, books, membership cards, trading cards, Top Trumps and Plush Toys.[2][6] In March 2012, Mind Candy confirmed a major partnership deal with Sony Music.[7] The deal followed the recent launch of Mind Candy’s own music label, Moshi Monsters Music. The deal will see Sony Music handle the distribution aspects of Moshi Monsters' forthcoming music releases, starting with the debut album, Moshi Monsters, Music Rox.[8] Head of Moshi Music, Jason Perry, ex-of the UK rock band A is producing the new album having already produced number one records for McFly and former Busted frontman Matt Willis. In November 2012, it was announced that the album has reached gold in the UK.[9] The debut Moshi Monsters Nintendo DS title Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo topped the charts in the UK for 23 consecutive weeks[10] becoming the longest ever #1 in Nintendo DS™ chart history by knocking Nintendo’s Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training from the top spot.[11] Mind Candy has over 130 licensing partners worldwide for the Moshi Monsters brand and is now available at retail within the US, Australia & New Zealand, Nordics, Benelux, Poland, Israel, Dubai and South Africa.[12] In October 2013, the firm's Moshi Monster characters became the most-licensed property in the UK after revenues at the firm jumping by more than 60 per cent. The company revealed that revenues rose to £46.9 million in 2012, up from £28.9 million for 2011. Users of the flagship game also increased from 55 million to 70 million.[13] Location Mind Candy is based in Bonhill Street, Old Street, London [1] in an area that has become known as London's "Silicon Roundabout", due to the high density of digital and tech businesses. The UK Government’s Tech City initiative also focuses on this area.[14] Smith founded regular networking events in the area, including Silicon Drinkabout[15] - a casual networking event for local businesses.[1] Awards Mind Candy has won numerous industry awards for its work. In July 2011, Mind Candy’s Senior Management Team won two awards at the annual BVCA awards, including the Venture Capital-Backed Management Team of the Year award.[16] Also in July 2011, Mind Candy team won a Develop Industry Excellence Award for "Business Development" at the The Develop Industry Excellence Awards.[17]